Potawatomi Nation: We're going to fight it

Tribe to challenge gaming legislation

Posted: Tuesday, April 03, 2007

By Michael Hooper

MAYETTA — Attorneys for the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation are preparing a lawsuit against the state to stop its plans for casino-hotel complexes in Ford County, Wyandotte County, either Cherokee or Crawford counties and either Sedgwick or Sumner counties, a tribe official said Monday.

"We're going to fight it," said Tracy Stanhoff, chairwoman of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation. "It's bad for the state."

Under a bill passed by the Legislature and sent to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, the state would own and operate the new casinos, though private companies would manage their day-to-day operations. Supporters think the state eventually would realize $200 million a year in revenues.

"Our biggest challenge is the state of Kansas putting Indians down," Stanhoff said.

"We supported Gov. Sebelius," she said. "We donated to the inauguration. But we can't even get a meeting with the governor. We've been sideswiped by this whole process."

Stanhoff said the tribe has given back to the state and keeps its money here.

"We're strong people," she said. "We've been here since the beginning of time."

Nicole Corcoran, spokeswoman for Sebelius, said the governor's office has been contacted by the tribe "but we don't conduct these types of meetings with either the governor or her chief counsel during the session."

Corcoran said the governor wasn't surprised by the reported legal challenge by the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation. However, on Friday, Sebelius said: "We have an attorney general's opinion that indicates that the framework is constitutional. I am confident from what I have seen — the legal precedent — the legal opinions of the past, that this is a constitutional framework."

Corcoran said the governor's signature would allow the people of Kansas to have a vote on whether they want expanded gaming in their communities.

Stanhoff and Mike Kenny, senior vice president and general manager at Harrah's, on Monday announced Harrah's Kansas Casino Corp., a subsidiary of Harrah's Entertainment Inc., will transfer management of the casino located 20 miles north of Topeka to the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation on July 1 — six months earlier than scheduled.

Kenny said 10 Harrah's employees will be replaced by the tribe's own staff.

The tribe said the business name will change to the Prairie Band Casino & Resort. The casino, hotel and convention center employ about 1,000 people.

She said the reason for Harrah's early departure is the nation already has in place the systems necessary to successfully operate the business, which Kenny said has had several $1 million days since it opened in 1998.

"This is the epitome of self-sufficiency," Stanhoff said. "This ushers our people into a new era of economic self-sufficiency."

She said that while the loss of Harrah's means more revenue for the tribe, much of that revenue will be used to maintain management systems for operating the business. There is a cost for that, she said.

Harrah's taught the tribe well, she said.

"We're thrilled with the building, the gaming floor and the integrity of the operation," she said. "It's the best in the Midwest. We plan to take it up a notch."

Kenny said he was involved 10 years ago when Harrah's and the Prairie Band Potawatomi began working together.

"We're proud of what we have accomplished here," he said.

The Prairie Band Casino is losing a nationally-recognized gaming brand with Harrah's departure.

But Stanhoff said there isn't any reason why the Prairie Band Casino & Resort couldn't be a nationally recognized brand some day, too. She said the tribe may expand to Las Vegas or Reno, Nev., and possibly overseas.

"We're thinking big," she said.

The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation has quite a bit of resources stored up since the casino opened nine years ago. The tribe has reinvested about $250 million into infrastructure, including roads, youth center, swimming pool, health center and land acquisitions.

Last year the tribe purchased 128 acres of land in former homelands in Dekalb County, Ill., where it is negotiating with local officials to open another gaming operation.

When asked whether expanded gaming would increase the number of gambling addictions statewide, Kenny said a certain percentage of people already were inclined to have those problems. It is possible addictions could increase. He said gaming will be handier to people in the Wichita area.

"Only time will tell," he said.

Moneymaker

The Prairie Band Casino is a big moneymaker for the tribe. Kenny said it wasn't a stretch to say the casino has brought in more than $1 million in revenue in a single day on several occasions. When the operation opened in 1998, the tribe made more money in one month from the casino than from a year's worth of bingo operations. There was a lot of jubilation and celebration. But Stanhoff said revenue growth at the casino had flattened in recent years, possibly due to increased competition in Oklahoma.

To better compete, the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation plans to make announcements soon about expansion plans, Stanhoff said.

She said the tribe was looking a variety of expansion possibilities, including building a golf course or a spa.